Things to do with kids: Harry Potter Wands

This week I needed a book to read on the beach, of course Harry Potter was the obvious choice, and following this theme me and Giacomo decided to create our own wands and play Harry potter style!

Any Harry Potter fan knows that wands come in all shapes and sizes and are individual to the owner, this is a great way to let kids have some fun, and to make something they can keep!

Some supervision is needed for this.

Giacomo had carved his wand almost 2 years ago, and so today it was my turn to have a go. We walked in the garden and found the twig we needed. I went for a short branch of a cherry tree; You can use almost any wood but it needs to be quite strong and not bendy. Ideally a live piece of wood as this makes removing the bark easier.

Happy with my stick we used a sharp knife to strip off the bark, and to shape the end into a slight point, leaving bark on the handle for a more wand like look. I shaped the wand to my preference, (here is the opportunity to make the wand your own!)

Finally I sanded the tip to make it rounded, and added some detail to my ‘handle’

All that’s left to do is decide on its origin, mine is “cherry wood with hippo griff tail‘ and to start practising spells!

Beach fun in Bibione

After a long hot summer it seemed only right to bring my adventures to an end on a hot sandy beach. Bibione was the destination, and the word of the week was relaxation. We headed to the families beach house (a two hour drive from San Martino B.A) and the rest is a rather laid back history

Bibione is one long sandy beach, from its packed hotel beaches, to its almost deserted beaches amongst the pine woods, this really honestly felt like paradise. We cycled to more secluded spots near the Faro (lighthouse) and where often alone on the beach. These blue flag beaches are the cleanest I’ve ever seen and the water was clear for as far as the eye could see.. With our tent set up we spent days drifting to sleep in the shade and sitting with our feet in the water reading our books. With not an English person in sight (but a hell of a lot of Germans) I really knew I was in Italy here.. And I’ve got the tan to prove it! This is the perfect place for families, quiet, but with a nice strip of restaurants and shops, great cycling paths, places dedicated to wildlife, beautiful hotels and even a thermal spa.

I celebrated my birthday in Bibione too, a day at the beach, some cards from home and even one from the family, as well as a beautiful cake and the best mushroom risotto I’ve ever tasted! The gifts of a pasta machine and a portrait of me drawn by Elisa where beautiful! . Ill never forget this birthday 🙂

A beautiful stay, and a place I’d really like to return to again for a holiday! Thanks Bibione!

Homemade Italian Gnocchi

Last week I learnt that after 23 years of “hating” gnocchi, actually I pretty much love it. That is to say the real deal stuff… For years I’d battled with it, willing myself to like it, but after a few supermarket buys I soon gave up, heavy, bland and a bit too thick for my taste.

However when I got the chance to taste spinach gnocchi and then later cheese gnocchi at a gnocchi festival I started to have doubts.. Furthermore when I actually made gnocchi and tasted it from fresh I was a full convert. I have seen the gnocchi light and it was good…

So here’s how to make it, trust me, it’s nothing like you’ve tasted before, and my oh my is it easy

We made enough gnocchi for 6 people, but you can freeze any left overs and cook when you are ready!

You’ll need:

A bag of floury white potatoes (2kg)

3 eggs

Some flour (it’s hard to give measurements here, it goes off your own judgement, it’s all about experiment!)

Next up:

– Peel and boil the potatoes with a little salt
– Mash well, or if possible use a potato ricer
– Add the three eggs and mix
– Add flour gradually until the ‘dough’ comes together and is less sticky.. I’m afraid this is all based on a bit of judgement!
– Flour a work surface and roll the dough into sausages
– Cut the sausages into chunks with a butter knife
– Roll the gnocchi on the back of a grater or use a fork to create the pattern.
– Place on a really well floured tray until you are ready to cook and serve.
– Plop into boiling water for a few min, they are ready when they start to rise to the top of the water.
– Serve with melted butter mixed with a pinch of nutmeg, or with a homemade tomato sauce
– Be enlightened to the power of gnocchi

A prize for how many times I said gnocchi in this post!

gnocchi , gnocchi , gnocchi

Magical Music in Italy

There are many things that stand out from my trip, but the ones that really make me think i’ll never forget my time here are the simple things, not the big fancy buildings or spectacular views but small things… so often overlooked. One of those things being Music..

In Rome we walked by the Vatican by night and ate gelato.. on the way home an italian band played in a small square and we sat on the floor watching them for what seemed like hours. blissful ones.. I understood none of the music but really struck me and I truly felt like i was living some sort of strange dream…It was the beginning of many magical ‘musical moments’ in italy..

  

On a trip to the Castello Scaligero in Malcesine I was taken back by a grey old looking man playing the most amazing blues on a steel guitar, singing in English to only one person, me.. It felt like I was made to be his audience that day and i felt a strange mutual respect between us both. If I could i’d go back and thank him for making my trip there so memorable.

Music it seems is everywhere on my trip, from classical concerts in Verona’s underground churches, harpists in the streets of Matova..

harp To accordian players in Venice and swing bands in Florence. Not to mention a few bad karaoke experiences…

But most of all i’ll remember the feeling from this moment….Bardolino and its free Classical concert that nearly bought me to tears,. The choir’s encore of ‘O sole mio’ (you probably know it as ‘just one cornetto’) genuinely gave me goosebumps, from the first note the audience sang along with such pride and emotion for the song that I really thought my heart was about to burst out of my chest. I will never ever forget the feeling that song gave me. I can say listening then it was probably one of the best moments of my life.. and one ill never forget.

So heres a bravo and encore to italy and all its wonderful musicians,